Sukhothai
Toured the ancient city of Sukhothai, another UNESCO-designated "World Heritage Site". It was founded in the 13th century--around the same time as Ayuthaya--but wasn't as much of a big dog in the kingdom. However, it did make a lot of cultural and artistic contributions, establishing the Thai alphabet and creating a very particular style of sculpture, especially in regard to depictions of the Buddha. The historical park was nicer than in Ayuthaya, and the ruins in much better shape (Ayuthaya was sacked and got all effed up by the Burmese army in 1767), but I think I still liked Ayuthaya better. Fewer tourists, more stillness in the air, more alone time among 700 hundred year-old ruins. Nifty stuff. Anywho, Sukohothai is still an amazing site to see, and I'm glad I made the trip!
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| Big ol' Bodhi tree. It had lots of ants crawling up the trunk. I tried to get a closer look and got a pant leg full of ants. Enlightenment my ass. |
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| stupid tourists, ruining my picture. Don't they know who I am?? |
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| Purty. There's a dude meditating under that tree, but he's hard to pick out. |
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| Walking Buddha struts his stuff while seated Buddha subdues mara |
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| Buddha subduing mara, after he got his nails done, apparently. This is classic Sukhothai style with its elongated, delicately tapered fingers. Oh la la. |
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This is just a picture that's currently hanging in my room at my guesthouse in Lampang. Totally sketchy, right? I, of course, love it.
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Tomorrow I hope the train to Chiang Mai--a cool city in the far north of Thailand. Hoping to do some more couch surfing.
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